Grand Theft Auto may be one of the most well-known video game franchises, yet a feature film adaptation has not yet been made. As it turns out, a GTA movie was once under consideration, but the video game firm finally rejected the idea, according to Kirk Ewing, a friend of Rockstar founders Sam Houser and Dan Houser.
What Could Have Been
On the BBC podcast Bugzy Malone’s Grandest Game, the disclosure was disclosed. Grand Theft Auto 3 was released in 2001 for consoles to great popularity, and according to Ewing, the GTA movie almost never happened sometime after that.
A Bit Shaky
Around this time, an unidentified Hollywood producer approached the production company with the proposal to create a live-action movie starring hip-hop icon Eminem, who was then just beginning his acting career, and directed by Tony Scott, the man behind Top Gun.
The Housers rejected the GTA movie, albeit it’s unclear why. This was long before more recent movies like Sonic the Hedgehog and the new Mortal Kombat would change people’s perceptions of video game adaptations, so it’s possible that they were skeptical that a full film adaptation would do the video games justice.